André Hoffmann Discusses Business Ethics Geneva, February 24, 2022: The American International Club (AIC) hosted its 811th speaking event since its inception in 1951, led by André Hoffmann, Vice-Chairman of Roche Holding, a world-leading pharmaceutical company. In front of an overflowing number of attendees at the Hotel Metropole, Mr. Hoffmann provided a thought-provoking talk about the importance of business ethics. Mr. Hoffmann stated that our world today is driven by short-term profit at any cost. The capitalistic system of focusing only on selling competitively-priced products in high volume to consumers has led to collateral environmental damage. We have lost 65% of our forests since the 1950s, while the world population has tripled. The current global ecosystem is not resilient enough. Mr. Hoffmann believes that we need to better serve society through long-term impact assessment that can alleviate current …
THE SWISS FINANCIAL CENTER: GAINING OR LOSING INFLUENCE? Blaise Goetschin, CEO of BCGe February 1, 2022 For his third time to present to the club since 2013, Mr. Goetschin gave the audience an overview of where Switzerland stands today in terms of its influence in the financial world. He started by reassuring us that Switzerland is currently in a solid position, as it has a strong geopolitical base, a favorable economic environment, and a history of success as a financial center. The S& P has maintained its AAA status in 2021, ranking it at the same level as Singapore and Germany, and higher than its neighbors France (AA) and Italy (BBB), as well as the UK (AA). Geneva itself it ranked AA-, and of the top banks in Geneva, USB is rated A+, Credit Suisse A-, and the BCGe …
THE STATE OF GENEVA'S FINANCES, January 20, 2022 Nathalie Fontanet, Director of Finances, Human Resources and International Geneva at the Geneva State Council, and Ivan Pictet, former Senior Partner of the bank Pictet & Cie and former President of Fondation pour Genève, joined the AIC to present a current picture of Geneva’s finances and the impact the international community has on them. Mrs. Fontanet began with an overview of the current financial situation in Geneva. She highlighted that although Geneva has the highest taxes of all cantons in Switzerland, 36% of the population doesn’t earn enough income to pay tax. In fact, a family with two children only starts to pay income tax when they earn CHF 80,500 annually, meaning that the tax situation in Geneva is favorable to families. In contrast, 3% of taxpayers pay 81.5% of wealth tax (which represents 13% of total annual taxes). To the surprise of many, the Covid pandemic …
AIC Ambassadors pampered on Inaugural Geneva-JFK flight December 14 As a generous contribution to the AIC Thanksgiving Charity Dinner, SWISS International Airlines offered two return tickets on their inaugural flight back to NYC on December 14 to two lucky AIC members. Deanna Haller and Anne Gottwald tell us they had an amazing experience on board. The first surprise of the day was an upgrade to Business Class! Complimentary glasses of champagne were given to all passengers on board, as well as souvenir “I ❤️NYC” tote bags. “Swiss Air made us feel special upon our entry to the plane. The staff was very attentive throughout the flight,” said Deanna. After a fantastic meal of sashimi, steak and lemon mousse, the two were able to convert their seats into beds and were given plenty of extra pillows and covers. After a …
A Vision for the Future of Geneva Geneva, November 18, 2021: The American International Club (AIC) hosted its 808th speaking event since its inception in 1951 discussing the Future of Geneva. The event was led by Antonio Hodgers, Conseiller d'Etat overseeing land and development, David Montalba, FAIA, SIA, Founding Principal of Montalba Architects, and Mark Muller, Lawyer of the Geneva Bar specializing in real estate, and past President of the Conseil d’Etat. Both Antonio Hodgers and Mark Muller emphasized the need for dialogue and cooperation amongst various political party factions in order to progress on long-term planning. Mr. Hodgers responded to concerns about housing affordability stressing that the future of Geneva will be all-inclusive for rich and poor alike. All new residential real estate projects, whether in Cologny or Meyrin, will be one-third for lower income, one-third for middle …
Geopolitics of the Sea: Claudio Bozzo, COO of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, speaks to the AIC Geneva, 17 June 2021 For our first in-person luncheon of the year, the AIC welcomed Claudio Bozzo, the COO of MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company to speak to the Club about his views on the geopolitics of the sea. Not surprisingly, Claudio was born and raised by the sea in Genoa, an important Italian port city whose maritime prominence dates back centuries. However, it was in New York that he joined MSC Mediterranean Shipping Company, in 1994. He began as a clerk and rose quickly through the ranks to become President and CEO of MSC USA, just 11 years later, in 2005. Claudio was then appointed to the newly created global position of Chief Operating Officer at MSC’s global headquarters here in Geneva in 2014. …
Sophie Dubuis spoke to the AIC on 25 May 2021. TOURISM IN GENEVA AND SWITZERLAND With international restrictions on the movement of people during the pandemic, the local tourism has been hit especially hard. Join us for an intimate conversation with Sophie Dubuis, President of Geneva Tourisme, on the current state and future of tourism in Geneva and Switzerland.C If you missed the event, you can catch up anytime by clicking below. CLICK HERE TO WATCH
Lorenzo Stoll of SWISS Shares His Crystal Ball of Air Travel Geneva, February 23, 2021: The American International Club (AIC) hosted a virtual speaking event featuring Lorenzo Stoll, the regional director of SWISS airlines. This was the first event under the new AIC President, Paige Holt, who welcomed the many AIC members attending the video conference call. AIC Vice President, Chris Benardis then introduced Lorenzo Stoll. Mr. Stoll was open and transparent about the current state of affairs amidst the COVID pandemic. The airline industry has suffered dramatically over the past year. Lufthansa has racked up losses of €24M per day, albeit offset by €9B in government subsidies. SWISS is losing €1M daily. Passenger traffic is down substantially. In Geneva, Mr. Stoll estimated daily traffic has fallen 94% from 2019 peak levels of 350k to only 20k currently. The cadre …
Europe in 2021 The American International Club (AIC), in conjunction with the Association of International Chambers of Commerce (AICC), organized a webinar on December 14, 2020 that was attended by over 400 participants. The webinar presented six leaders from different fields who spoke about the future of their sectors within the European economy. The program included: ECONOMY - JACQUES ATTALI Writer & President Positive Planet Foundation ENVIRONMENT & SUSTAINABILITY - PHILIPPE RYSER CEO Ceptis SA FOOD - AMANDA BOOKER COO The Fork HEALTH - DR RANIERI GUERRA Assistant Director-General WHO EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGIES - PROF. PIERRE DILLENBOURG Professor at EPFL TRAVEL - SEBASTIAN MIKOSZ Senior Vice-President, Member and External Relations IATA
AIC Zoom Videoconference 10 December 2020 Venture Capital: Technology Investing in Switzerland and Abroad Featuring Pär Lange, Investment Partner of Swisscom Ventures and Michèle Ollier, Partner & Co-founder of Medicxi Michèle Ollier Dr. Michèle Ollier is the Partner and Co-founder of Medicxi, a life science investment firm. Prior to forming Medicxi in 2016, Michèle was a Partner at Index Ventures for ten years. She has led investments in, and continues to serve on the boards of, several leading biotech companies. Prior to joining Index, Michèle was Investment Director at Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners in Paris for three years. Before that, she spent more than fifteen years in several development and marketing positions at Sanofi International, BMS, RPR/ Gencell/ Aventis International and Serono International. She currently serves on the board of directors of Ipsen Pharmaceuticals. She also sits on the …